When Heroes Fall
by SpoiledLiLAmy
Summary: Max was convinced that her life in Seatttle was a delusion and has gone on to live life as a normal human when she runs into someone from her past. Max/Alec!!!
1. Prologe- Insanity

TITLE: When Heroes Fall

PART: Prologue 

RATING: R

PAIRING: Max/Alec!!! With slight L/A

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to JC, Fox etc etc etc 

AN: This is very loosely based on the Buffy ep. Normal Again which has to be the 2nd or 3rd greatest ep. of all time!!! (The other 2 being Fool 4 Love and Something Blue (guess who's a Spuffy fan lol))

AN2: Ok I'm not a Cher fan but I absolutely adore the song Walking in Mephis (X-Files fans will understand y) and that lead to the discovery of the song after which this fic is named

AN3: This is gonna be loooonger than most of my chapters but it's the prologue so bear with me

~~~

Through the darkest night

I see the stars shine bright

When heroes fall 

In love or war

They live forever

~Cher~ Song for the Lonely~

~~~

PROLOGE

Max's mind slowly swam into consciousness, and she raised her head to peer at her surroundings. Fluorescent lights illuminated the room, their bright outlines burned onto her retinas. Her mind was still cloudy and things were out of focus but she was able to ascertain that she was in some sort of cell. The stereotypical loony bin from the looks of it, padded walls and all. She was still grasping at wispy memories that were slowly seeping back, trying her hardest to remember where she was.

A camouflaged door on the opposite wall swung open and Max stumbled to her feet only to have her now weak legs give out on her. 

"Logan!" she cried in relief, when the familiar figure strode into the room, "And Asha," she added when the blonde trailed in after him.

"What the hell am I doing in here?"

"Are you alright Callista?" Logan asked, examining Max from a distance.

"Callista?" Max asked frantically, "What do you mean Logan? It's me. Max. You know me." 

Logan sighed and opened the door motioning a man in a lab coat into the room.

"She still thinks she's in there," he informed the uniformed man.

"In where?" Max demanded, attempting to stand once more.

"I told you it would take a while. She's been living in that creation of hers for years, she can't just snap out of it. That's her life." The man replied, ignoring Max's outburst.

"My life?" Max asked, her brain still trying to clear away the cobwebs and understand what was going on.

"You talk to her," the doctor said softly to Logan, his eyes never leaving a frightened Max who sat in the corner, her legs splayed at awkward angles, "You're a familiar face and she'll take it better if it comes from you." Logan nodded and walked over to Max crouching down beside her. 

"Hi Callie," he whispered, "you doing o.k. kiddo?" Max stared at him, this was not Logan, this man had something in his voice that she had never heard in Logan's, pity. 

"My name… is Max," she shouted huddling even further into the corner, seized by an unusual paranoia and dread.

"No listen to me," Logan said grabbing her wrists, "You're name is Callista Halle and you're in Seattle High Security Mental Institution and have been for nearly three years now."

Max was now sure that this was not Logan. He was touching her and he was lying to her. She snatched her arm away and cradled it against her chest. 

Asha winced and stepped forward, "Maybe you should take it slower," she suggested, reaching out to touch Logan's shoulder. Logan spun around and glared at her, "This has to be done. May as well get it over with. Like pulling a band-aide," he said hollowly, almost pushing her away from him. Asha backed away, hurt evident on her face but the doctor nodded in agreement with Logan.

"My name is Kenneth Logan and that is my wife, Emily, and Dr. Williams" Logan continued, his tone deceptively calm, while it was apparent a battle was raging inside.

The first tears started to trickle down Max's cheeks as she listened to this, "No," she sobbed, "Your name is Logan Cale and that's Asha and I'm not in a mental institution because I'm not crazy."

"No," Logan said comfortingly, "You're suffering from a rare type of schizophrenia in which you have created an entire life for yourself. A life where you are a genetically engineered solider created by a secret organization you've named Manticore. None of it's real Callie."

"Manticore's real!" Max cried, her eyes glazed over in blind fear, "It's all real! You're a fucking LIER!"

"You were checked into the hospital years ago and fell into your delusional world less than a week later. You took people from your old life and built a new one around them. Logan and Asha are versions of Emily and I, your adoptive parents. Zach, Ben, and Eva are your brothers and sister and the rest are various friends."

"No, no, no, no, no," Max muttered, all the while, trying to drown out this man's familiar yet alien voice, which was telling her lies. Trying to drive her crazy, break her, but that wasn't going to happen.

"We were really worried about you," Logan said, tears beginning to drip down his own cheeks, "You were showing improvement until last year when you started creating totally new delusions. These new one's started appearing and we could find no real world person to relate them to. It seemed you were slipping even further into your little make believe world."

"If it was all in my head how do you know all this?" Max asked, the first logical comment she had made since regaining consciousness.

"You talked out loud. We were able to determine most of what was going on through your disjointed ramblings." Logan explained, "Do you remember Rafer?"

"Yes I remember him," Max snapped, the absurdity of the situation suddenly hitting her. This was obviously someone's sick idea of a prank. Or maybe one of White's twisted plans.

"He was the first. The first delusion we couldn't trace back to your real life. That was the indication that you were falling even deeper into your fantasy world. You were creating people, as you needed them. Rafer was a fairly one-dimensional character so we weren't too worried but then came more. Joshua seemed to be the biggest threat. He was created to cater to your motherly instincts,"

"Why would I do this?" Max asked, the tears, having finally stopped leaving her eyes red and swollen, "Why would I create I world like I did. If that was all my creation why would I make the virus? Why would I kill Ben?"

"You had your reasons I'm sure," Logan replied.

"And why would my adoptive father become the love interest in these 'delusions' of mine," she continued.

"Father complex according to the doctors. There were a great number of orphans following the pulse, you being one of them. Emily and I adopted you when you were 9, we were 21, it seemed the only way we could make a difference."

"So why am I suddenly o.k.?"

"We don't know," Logan answered honestly, "We assume it partially due to the character you named Alec."

"Alec," Max snorted, "Yeah could probably make me want to leave."

"Actually he was the reason you wouldn't," Logan said.

Max let out a loud bark of laughter, "Shows how well you were listening to my 'ramblings.'"

"Alec isn't real. He was the final nail in the proverbial coffin, or so we thought. He was the most complex character you created. No basis in real life yet he had a many faceted personality and you developed this complex relationship with him. He was the breeding partner who followed you out into the real world. The one with the cutting sense of humor who annoyed you yet he was the only one to make you laugh. You had a connection with him. He was just like you and knew where you were coming from. Alec was the thing that kept you anchored," Logan explained.

"Oh trust me he's very real," Max drawled, pulling up the filmy paper material of her hospital gown to reveal her upper arm. 

She gasped when she saw the smooth unmarked skin, "He bit me shortly after I met him. We were just playing around at Joshua's and I said something so he leaned over and bit me. It left a scar. Right here," she said, running a trembling finger in the general vicinity of where the scar should have been. 

Logan grasped her chin, tilting her head upwards, "It's not there because it's not real Callie."

"It is," Max shouted, but the conviction weakening and her chin was wobbling.

"Something must've happened to break that cord and send you back into reality. You're going to be alright Callie," Logan said, pulling her to him, stroking her hair. Max leaned against his shoulder, loud sobs, wracking her body.

"It's real, it's real, it's real, it's real," she kept mumbling through the sobs. She pulled away from Logan, her eyes darting around the room, focusing on Asha/Emily, then on Dr. Williams, Asha again, before finally coming to rest back on Logan/Kenneth.

"Why don't I remember anything?" she asked, terror obvious in her voice.

"We're not sure. We just hope that through therapy you can go on to live at least a semi-normal life," Logan said. Max watched as two new doctors came into the room and slowly approached her. They each took hold of her, carrying her out of the room. Max struggled and screamed but her strength was to drained for the wild thrashing to do any good. Logan watched as she was carried away, pain clearly etched on his face.

"You did the right thing," Asha murmured, coming to stand next to him.

"I know," he sighed, running his hands through his hair, "She'll be safe now, as long as she believes what we tell her."

Dr. Williams approached the couple after giving them several minutes to collect themselves, "We've given her a brand of muscle relaxant which should suppress most of her heightened abilities. If she takes it thinking that it's keeping the delusions away she should be safe though this is going to be hard for her."

"I know, but she would never leave otherwise and she isn't safe here anymore. White's got men everywhere and the public is in a frenzy," Logan replied sadly, "I only hope that if she ever does realize what we did she can find a way to understand it."

~~~

Should I continue??? REVIEW! You know u wanna.

~~~


	2. The Places You Have Come to Fear the Mos...

TITLE: When Heroes Fall

PART: 1/?

RATING: R

PAIRING: Max/Alec!!! With slight L/A

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to JC, Fox etc etc etc 

AN: This is very loosely based on the Buffy ep. Normal Again which has to be the 2nd or 3rd greatest ep. of all time!!! (The other 2 being Fool 4 Love and Something Blue (guess who's a Spuffy fan lol))

AN2:  I'm soooooooo sorry it took so long to update!!! Oh and I'm on a Dashboard kick so losta my fics are gonna have their songs. Thought I'd put a little plug in 4 them cauz thery're a great band.

~~~

Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself

And covered with a perfect shell

Such a charming beautiful exterior

This is one time that you can't fake it hard enough

To please everyone or anyone at all

And the grave that you refuse to leave

The refuge that you've built to flee

The places you have come to fear the most

~The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most~ Dashboard Confessional~

~~~

**2 Years Later**

"Hey Callie!" an obnoxious nasally voice shouted over the clamor of the restaurant. If you could call it that. Her place of work was only a restaurant in the most energetic reach of the willing imagination. It was more the dysfunctional child of the union between a strip bar and a diner. 

"Callie!" the voice shouted again, angry and loud, persistent in it's annoyance, "Table 5! Get your scrawny ass over there a-fucking-sap." ASAP… a word not an acronym in the vocabulary of the fortyish balding man whose name tag bore only the word "BOSS" in large childish scrawl. 

Max got up from her seat on the closed lid of a toilet and walked over to the sink staring at her forlorn reflection in the cracked glass of the mirror. Her once silky hair was twisted into hundreds of tiny braids, a tool to hide the fact that it was in dire need of a washing, her large brown eyes were ringed with deep bags which she disguised with heavy eyeliner, her outfit was the shorter than short dress that served as a uniform for the waitresses. A nametag plastered to her chest read HELLO MY NAME IS: in large black letters followed by a name she was still not familiar with. 

"Cal-," Boss began but stopped when he caught sight of Max slipping out of the bathroom. While his other employees did all manner of illegal substances in the grimy confines of that room he wasn't exactly sure what she did. She came in drunk on several occasions but she sobered up fairly quickly and she never appeared completely wasted. All and all she was reliable and he didn't need to know her personal life. She was eye-candy for the dirty patrons of his restaurant not a friend.

"Table 5," Max finished waving him away as she headed for the table in question, notepad in hand.

~~~

Alec rounded the corner of a large brick building and pressed himself against the wall, his breath coming in shallow gasps, sweat dripping down his temples. He rested his head on the cool brick taking every advantage of the brief respite. He heard his persuers approaching and rolled his neck listening with satisfaction as it popped loudly, releasing some of the pent up tension in his joints. He had been running for going on two hours now and he was functioning on pure adrenalin. 

"There he is!" someone shouted, the pounding of feet came to a confused halt before they skittered around the corner and headed towards him. Alec watched the assorted men and women charge at him with an amused smile. He shook out his legs and made a flying leap up onto the ledge above his head.

"Run run as fast as you can, can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man," Alec taunted, jumping form his current ledge to an adjoining one and disappearing from sight. He crawled up onto the roof of the building and flattened himself against the steel of a chimney. 

His apartment had been raided by what seemed like Seattle's entire police force, and being public enemy number one he had been on the run ever since. The anti-transgenic movements had been on the rise for the past two years and all manner of device had been invented to sort out the "freaks." Alec was surprised it had taken them as long as it did to find his apartment. White's group had a huge reward on his head and had every available task force out searching for him yet it was Seattle's PD who smoked him out first. It was only a matter of time before he had to stop running.

~~~

Max returned from her run to table five and hoisted herself onto the bar swinging her legs against the bar in time to the loud music blaring from the speakers. She watched some of her fellow waitresses up on the other end of the bar dancing and encouraging the catcalls of the primarily male audience. 

"Cause I wanna be a cowboy baby," someone growled in her ear and Max let out a startled yelp turning to face the speaker.

"Gavin, you ass! Don't do that to me! Almost gave me a heart attack!" she chided, punching her friend lightly on the arm. She had moved out here less than a month after her release from the mental institution. She couldn't take anymore of Emily and Kenneth-don't-call-me-Kenny's parental hovering. She had met Gavin in the first few weeks and moved in with him almost immediately. They were roommates only, nothing sexual. Not because Gavin wasn't extremely gorgeous but because he was openly gay. She insisted to Kenneth that Gavin wasn't merely a replacement for her delusional roommate Cindy but she knew in a way he was.

"Come on let's split Cal," Gavin suggested, tugging at Max's arm leading her to the door.

"My shift's not-," Max began but Gavin interrupted her.

"Look 'Boss' is not going to care or notice. You spend enough time here."

"Lemme get my bag," she said in way of consent.

"Already done," Gavin replied dangling the purse in front of her, the various medicine bottles clattering together as he swung it in front of her face. She had joked about being more drugged up than most of her coworkers but it was obvious the multiple medications bothered her. They made her drowsy, nauseous, and irritable among other things and they were a sign of weakness. They were a reminder that she was not like everyone else and a device that tied her to memories she would rather forget.

"Your too damn organized," she grumbled grabbing the bag and stuffing it under her arm.

"And your too damn forgetful," he retorted, opening the car door for her and circling around to the other side, "You need me Callie and you don't like needing anyone."

~~~

Alec heard the sound of a circling plane and felt every muscle on his body tense and every nerve and synapse halt, paralyzed in fear. He glanced up and relaxed as the plane passed over without incident. It was obviously returning from a run. Lucky for him.

He stood frozen for several more minutes before dropping to his knees and crawling across the rooftop. He peered over the ledge and saw the alley clear of police. He jumped from the roof, landing on the ground with a thud. His limbs had cramped up from his stay on the roof, preventing his normal cat-like landing.

He ran shaky hands through his blonde hair and glanced around helplessly. The sighting of the plane had him rattled and nervousness led to mistakes. The bright red symbol painted on the plane's side was all too familiar to him and every other transgenic in the city of Seattle. It meant death. 

A car gunned it's engine nearby and Alec ducked behind a dumpster. He watched the car's occupant slide from behind the wheel and slam the door, walking off into the hazy late afternoon air. Steam rose from the streets giving the entire scene a rather surreal contingency. 

He crept up to the car peeking in the windows before reaching the drivers side and picking the lock. He didn't want to drive around with a broken window, it would only arouse suspicion. He opened the door and sank into the seat, briefly admiring the leather interior before cracking the panel beneath the wheel and hotwiring the car. A skill he had learned at Manticore. A skill he still put to use. The car's engine turned over and the car came to a growling start. Alec smiled and stomped on the gas pedal the car leaping forward and speeding down the road.

~~~

TBC! REVIEW! You know u wanna.

~~~


	3. Made of Steel

TITLE: When Heroes Fall

PART: 1/?

RATING: R

PAIRING: Max/Alec!!! With slight L/A

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to JC, Fox etc etc etc 

AN: This is very loosely based on the Buffy ep. Normal Again which has to be the 2nd or 3rd greatest ep. of all time!!! (The other 2 being Fool 4 Love and Something Blue (guess who's a Spuffy fan lol))

AN2:  Sorry 4 the lack of updates! Read the note on my profile for a longer apology.

~~~

Hold your head high 

_Don't look down_

_I'm by your side_

_Won't back down_

_You wanted a hero tonight_

_Well I'm not made of steel_

_I'm not made of steel_

_But your secret's safe with me_

_~Made of Steel~ Our Lady Peace~_

~~~

Alec pulled up in front of a run-down bar and shut off the engine. He sat there for several minutes watching people enter and exit the bar with steady regularity. He had exchanged the car several times since Seattle but had not had time for a pit stop. His stomach was knotted with the knawing pangs of hunger and a dull ache was beginning in his bladder. He would go in there, eat, wash up, and be on his way. Another nameless face in a nameless bar in Nowhere, USA.

~~~

Max swiped her washcloth over an abandoned table, stealing a quick glance at the door where Gavin stood, not so subtly keeping watch. A nightmare had left her particularly rattled that morning and the handsome redhead had found it necessary to hover more than usual.

"Don't you have something more constructive to do with your Friday night?" she hissed, going out of her way to pass by him.

"No," Gavin replied honestly.

"Well I suggest you find something before I call the cops and report my roommate turned stalker," she snapped, flicking the towel in his face.

"You're forgetting that I'm your ride home Princess," Gavin drawled, leaning back against the doorframe, regarding her with a smile.

"I'm sure some gorgeous young cop would be more than happy to escort me home," she said, swinging the towel over her shoulder and flouncing back to the bar.

"Yeah to the home I pay 75 percent of the rent for," Gavin called. 

Max shot her hand back to flick him off before calling over her shoulder, "5 minutes Gavin. You're not out of here in 5 minutes I'm picking up the phone."

~~~

Alec stepped into the bar, barely missing colliding with a bulky redhead standing next to the door. He side stepped the man and slid into an empty seat.

A blonde waitress was next to him in a second, brandishing a menu and smiling widely, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Maybe," he replied, smiling flirtatiously, "But first could you direct me to the bathroom, it's been a really long trip."

The girl ducked her head, probably to hide a blush, "Behind the bar, third door from the left."

Alec nodded his thanks as he started towards the door indicated by the waitress who was turned on by a discussion of his urinary tract. He reached for the knob when he was nearly knocked over for the second time that night by a petite brunette. He glared at the girl as she brushed by, her hair curtaining her face as she passed, preventing him from getting a good look at her and vice-versa. He let out a loud sigh and entered the grimy little bathroom.

~~~

Max exited the bathroom, a chill suddenly shooting through her, the feeling she had heard described as someone walking over your grave setting her nerves on edge. She shrugged off the feeling as and check to see if Gavin had abandoned his post. Seeing he hadn't, Max tapped on an imaginary watch mouthing "2 minutes." Gavin smiled tolerantly, knowing her threat was an idle one.

Max wandered aimlessly around the bar, using the brief lull to retreat into herself, mulling over her situation and life in general.

She would often try to revive that world she was suppressing with medication and counseling. She would grasp onto vague memories, small fragments of conversations and events but most of it was lost in a drug-addled haze. Max could feel the curious glances from her coworkers. Could hear them whispering about her, a favorite item of gossip.

Max had been an untouchable, Max was a fucking hero. Callie was a nutcase, a slut who lost herself in meaningless sex and whose friends went home and laughed at her behind her back.

She ran her hands agitatedly through her hair, brushing away thoughts her therapist would call "destructive" as she tried to focus on reality.

~~~

Alec returned to his seat and took time to organize his thoughts before the waitress came over. Took the time to cover an unexplainable tension that seized him, with his normal unaffected mask.

He turned nonchalantly and took in the presence by the door. The man was eyeing Alec suspiciously and didn't bother to turn away when eye contact was made. Alec averted his eyes as the tension transformed into a jumpy paranoia.

As a transgenic it was advisable to always be on your guard, the people trying to catch you always were. 

In a time when the transgenic barcode was a death warrant and public lynchings were not only accepted but encouraged behavior, your ability to sense danger determined your lifespan.

The blonde waitress sauntered over with an exaggerated swing of her hips, her eyes gleaming in a way that was a little disconcerting.

"You ready?" she asked, smiling brightly. Alec returned the smile as he placed his order.

"Hey," he said, catching her wrist as she turned to leave. She spun around staring at him expectantly. Alec contemplated staying for the night but reminded himself that he was on a schedule. "That guy," he continued, "by the door. Does he serve a purpose or is he purely ornamental?" The girl was visibly disappointed but she turned to follow his eyes.

"Oh," she said the smile returning, "That's just Gavin. He's muscle for one of the girls here. Real weirdo, that one," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Who?" Alec asked, confused.

"Callie," the girl clarified, "Real antisocial and a total spaz. She had like a nervous breakdown once before," she added in a conspiratorial whisper. Alec nodded knowingly and thanked the waitress profusely. He turn again to see Gavin looking elsewhere and he felt a hint of relief. Maybe he would get through this night without incident after all.

~~~

Max hoisted herself up onto her usual seat on the counter, having checked on all her tables and harassed Gavin some more. The tingling at the base of her neck hadn't stopped and she began to wonder if this was the beginning of an attack.

She turned to Boss and coerced him into buying her a drink. She knocked back the shot knowing it would take hundreds more before the numbness would set in. She had an abnormally high tolerance for alcohol but the act of drinking had it's own calming effect.

She caught a brunette at the other end of the bar blatantly staring at her and she waved her fingers in a seductive little wave. She had often wondered why she was such an object of interest when many of the other girls were taller blonder and flirtier. Gavin had explained that there was something tantalizingly mysterious about her. A shattered innocence that guys couldn't help but follow. 

Max saw the guy gather his things, ready to approach her so she quickly darted off to make another round of her tables. She wasn't in the mood tonight.

She forced herself to appear especially interested in a newly vacated table as she swiped a washcloth over the chair. Then she noticed the keys lying abandoned on the cracked tile floor.

"Shit," she cursed, snatching up the keys and dashing out the door.

"Hey!" she called seeing a lone figure making his way through the parking lot, "Sir! I think you dropped-." Her voice died immediately upon seeing the face in front of her.

In retrospect she had known who it was long before he turned around. That self-assured swagger that oozed sexuality could almost be copyrighted and that soft, sexily tosseled blonde hair was not a common trait to come across. But it was the confirmation that came with seeing that face that rendered her speechless. 

Looking into those bluer than blue eyes with their fuck-authority gleam, which masked an inner loneliness, after so long, quite literally took her breath away.

~~~

Alec's heart had broken several times before. Now it was just someone stomping on the shattered pieces. A near physical sensation of pain wracked through him as he was faced with what he saw to be a ghost.

In different circumstances he would've termed it as fate. But being the product of science Alec knew there was no such thing. There were just a lot of fucked up coincidences.

She was smaller than he remembered but not much had changed. Her delicate features and tragic soulful eyes were taking on a panicked glaze and the tough exterior she was sporting was quickly breaking down, leaving her broken spirit exposed and raw.

When he finally spoke his voice was a choked gasp, "Max?"

~~~

The pair stood in perfect silence staring at each other for several emotionally charged seconds before a sound startled them to life. Gavin, having seen Max's hasty exit, decided to follow, not wanting to leave her to herself when she was obviously so shaken by something. He saw her almost immediately, and right away sensed the almost static charge around her and the lean blonde man she was facing. A sudden flurry of movement startled him and a quick succession of events which led to Max getting pinned to the wall of the bar happened faster than his eye could follow.

Alec slammed Max violently against the wall, his forearm digging into her throat as he held her in place. Max's terrified stare was morphing into the heated glare that he had been so familiar with. The look that had been so frequently directed his way. "You're dead!" he ground out, punctuating each word with an angry shake. Both of their breathing was coming in ragged gasps and Max knew that if she wasn't out of his grasp soon they would be fucking or fighting. There was a very thin line between love and hate. And of course it was never good to kiss a figment of your imagination. 

Gavin sprinted towards the couple hoping to save Max from whoever her mysterious attacker was. Max's mental state was dangerously unstable and she was physically very weak. He came to a sudden halt when he saw her legs kick out, sending what looked to be a strong young man reeling backwards. Meek, nervous Callie was stalking over to the man in a manner that was damn near erotic. He could almost feel the emotions whipping around the two of them. The heat was woven with disbelief, surprise, but most of all a good deal of complete and utter terror was radiating from both parties. 

Max felt the tightness in her throat, the constricting of her windpipes, and the spasmodic thudding of her heart as she walked up to Alec, who was sprawled on his back on the dirty pavement. Callie would have been in the middle of a panic attack at this point but hearing that name again, the one she missed so dearly gave her the strength to suppress the symptoms.

"You are not real," she said bluntly, "This isn't real, you aren't real, it wasn't, it isn't, and it never will be real."

"You're dead," Alec repeated, ignoring her rambling as he struggled to his feet, "I went to your fucking funeral!" his voice cracked on the last word and it sounded for all the world like he was about to cry. But Alec didn't cry. Neither did Max. Soldiers didn't cry.

Max suddenly stopped walking and began to back up until she was pressed up against the wall. She was tired of fighting it. He wasn't going away. She had taken her medication, gone to her therapy sessions, done everything she was supposed to but he was here. And he wasn't leaving. "This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening," she chanted softly, sinking to the ground when she felt the wall firmly behind her. Her hands began to tremble as she brought them up to cover her ears, "This is not happening!"

Alec watched Max's attitude take a complete 180 as she dissolved from that girl he remembered so well into a nervous wreck, rocking back and forth and talking to herself. The man he had noticed earlier, Gavin, charged at him, knocking him to the ground; he was too shocked to resist. 

"Callie!" Gavin said abandoning Alec to cradle the frightened girl in front of him to his chest, "Come on gorgeous, fight this! I know you can."

Alec's eyes widened as he watched Max, the evil bitch monster from Seattle who had made his life living hell, struggling to breathe. 

"I'm gonna go get her pills," Gavin informed him, stroking Max's hair gently, "You so much as touch her and I will break every fucking bone in your body." Alec nodded dazedly, unable to take in exactly what was happening here. The whirlwind course of events had left him baffled and confused, ignorant as how to act or respond. 

Max could feel Gavin pulling away and could sense Alec staring at her, staring with two very real eyes. This was all very real, Gavin was seeing him too, something was a lie. She just couldn't figure out what. So she did the only thing she could do. Run.

She could hear Gavin calling after her, but she ignored it, focusing on getting her legs to move like she remembered they could, feeling the weakness that had kept her incapacitated for so long, fading away as her feet beat against the pavement. The sounds around her became white noise, the static you hear on a broken T.V, and colors converged as she blurred, racing down streets and through empty lots, just running. 

She kept going for hours. Ignoring the burning in her muscles and the tightness of her lungs, if only she could go forever. Then she would never worry about what was real. It was just her and that was all she needed. But she knew she had to stop. And soon. 

Miles later she turned into an alley keeping up her pace until she reached the wall. She slid boneless to the ground, suddenly aware that it was raining. Rather appropriate when you think about it. 

It was now that her scraped and bloody feet began to throb, it was now that her strained muscles began to tremble and her vision began to blur and tilt from lack of oxygen. It was now that she noticed her pursuer.

She watched Alec turn the corner and enter the alley, his eyes on her face, pausing, afraid that if he went any further he would spook her. The pain on his face was probably a mirror image of hers and Max had never felt so connected with an individual in her entire life. Suddenly it didn't matter if he was real. He was back. She attempted to get to her feet but found the action virtually impossible. 

She saw Alec tense, preparing to chase her again. When he realized that wasn't her intent he relaxed and came closer. Max could feel her dams breaking and she extended her arms hoping Alec would understand what she meant. 

Alec watched the tears start to trickle down Max's cheeks, converging with the rainwater to drip off her chin. He saw her small frame begin to shake and it wasn't long before heart-wrenchingly loud sobs were tearing through her. Alec dropped to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. It wasn't until Max's own arms reached up to return the hug that he realized he was crying as well. Both clinging to something they thought they had lost as they both indulged in a long overdue release of pain.

~~~

TBC!!!! Hopefully soon!

~~~


	4. Poem

TITLE: When Heroes Fall

PART: 3/?

RATING: R

PAIRING: Max/Alec!!! With slight L/A

DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to JC, Fox etc etc etc 

AN: This is very loosely based on the Buffy ep. Normal Again which has to be the 2nd or 3rd greatest ep. of all time!!! (The other 2 being Fool 4 Love and Something Blue (guess who's a Spuffy fan lol))

AN2:  Sorry 4 the lack of updates! I PROMISE 2 update more frequently now but I'm counting on all of you 2 remind me lol.

AN3: There's implied sex at the beginning of the chapter so if that offends you just skip over it and know it happens. It's really tame stuff but I just thought I'd post a little warning in case anyone's kinda squeamish cause it isn't sweet stuff it's sorta violent.

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_Reoccurring drowning effect entrenching my brain_

_I hope you'll be okay someday_

_So I can say that you've moved on in the right way_

_We've seen this and…_

_We've breathed this and…_

_We've lived this on our own_

_This song is a _

_Poem to myself_

_It helps me to live_

_In case of fire_

_Break the glass _

_And move on into your own_

_~Poem~ Taproot~_

_~~~_

Max felt Alec's shoulders tense in her embrace as his tears trailed off. She found herself coming back to reality, hyperaware of the waterlogged condition of her clothes, the pain radiating from her torn feet, and most of all of the entirely too male body pressed against her. She felt the corner of her mouth turn up in the farce of a smile as she realized how easy it was for her to revert to 'Max' and chalk 'Callie' up a creation of Logan's fucked up imagination. It was Max who had always felt an undeniable pull to Alec and it was Max who was in control now. Or maybe this was just X5-452 finally coming to the surface to take what she wanted. 

She pulled away as Alec sat back on his haunches keeping his eyes trained on her as if afraid that if he looked away she would disappear again. Max felt the crackle of tension in the air around them and finally brought her gaze up to meet his. There was a brief pause in which brown eyes bore into deep blue before they were drawn together once again. This time lips met in a heated battle, hands clawing at each other in a fight to get closer. Each assuring themselves that the other was real. 

Alec tangled one hand in her disheveled hair as he slammed her against the back wall of the alley, Max's short skirt hiked up to her waist as she wrapped her legs around his slim hips. An embrace that had been comforting reassurance had turned into a heated tangle of limbs in a frantic race to verify what was real. Alec's teeth caught Max's bottom lip and she felt the metallic taste of blood flood her mouth. Alec growled low in his throat as Max's nails raked bloody furrows up his back. Max's fingers dropped to tug frantically at the hem of his shirt coaxing it over his head as his tongue flicked along the hollow of her neck. Alec brought his lips smashing back onto hers, his tongue now plundering her mouth, no longer a doubt that this was the Max who's 'funeral' he had attended years before, that this was the Max that had flitted through his dreams since their first meeting, the Max he loved to hate. 

Max ran one hand through her friend's familiar blonde hair just to see if it felt how she remembered. Deceptively soft gold locks were wet under her fingers and she felt all uncertainties draining from her as she realized that she was happier, wet, bloody, and half naked in a dirty alley, than she had been for two lonely years. She just wanted her old life back. Logan had taken that from her and there was going to be hell to pay when they got home. But for now revenge was the furthest thing from her mind. 

Max's slender fingers fumbled with Alec's jeans eliciting another growl even through the fiery kiss. He broke away briefly his intense eyes asking her silently if she was sure about this. The uncharacteristic voice of reason in this undeniably fucked up series of events. Max's only answer was another bruising kiss.

It was hours before they left the alley both in various states of undress their batter bodies dragging down the rain slick streets. This wasn't the classiest section of town and their appearance was almost the norm so they were able to make the long trek to the car unhampered. 

"Christ Max I never had you pegged as a masochist," Alec groaned, as he examined the bleeding scratches decorating his back, his walk more of a limp as he favored a dirty left leg. Max smiled wanly, her busted lip already beginning to swell, blood matting the hair at the back of her head. 

"Years of pasta and dancing with Logan can lead to a whole hell of a lot of sexual tension," Max reminded him.

"You mean to tell me you haven't had sex since you left Seattle?" Alec asked, looking pointedly at her short leather skirt and lacey black bra. 

"None that benefited me," she responded shooting him a seductive grin, "Humans just don't do it for transgenics." Alec chuckled softly knowing exactly what she meant. That was what Max had always loved with her relationship with Alec, the quick witty banter and she hadn't realized exactly how much she had missed that, him, this, before now.

Alec stopped next to a flashy convertible, the top up, and reached into his pocket for a set of keys. 

"This is your car?" Max asked eyeing the expensive interior appreciatively.

Alec gave a short bark of laughter, "Hell no. I'd go much classier if I had this kind of money." He crouched down sliding a metal pick in the lock turning it until it clicked. 

He opened the door his wet clothes dripping on the leather seats. He unlocked Max's door and threw it open.

"M'Lady," he drawled a lazy grin on his striking face. Max was unable to suppress the amused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. 

"What a gentleman," she teased sliding onto the seat with the squeak of leather against leather.

"You're ruining my new car you slut," he said in mock disapproval.

"Oh!" she cried trying to appear apologetic, "I'm so sorry, here let me dry off." She leaned over wringing water from her hair into his lap.

"Ah!" he cried wiping frantically at his wet crotch. "Now you've done it I'll never be able to fix it now, I'll sue you, you goddamn harpy!" Max leaned back in the seat a delighted smile lighting her face as her laughter filled the car.

"Well where to Maxie?" he asked groping beneath the dashboard to hotwire the car, "You wanna go to your apartment or wherever it is you're shacking up now adays?"

"I think we could both use a change of clothes so we could stop there first," she agreed directing him through side roads and to the back door of her apartment complex. She looked briefly to the front entrance before hoisting herself up onto the fire escape and shimmying up to the fourth story where she balanced along a stone ledge until she reached the window to her room. She jimmied the lock until the window popped open gaining her entrance. She shot Alec a happy smile at his position on the ground. She crept silently into the room reveling in the adrenaline rush of her recent acrobatics. She had missed this so much. 

Her bare feet padded silently on the carpet, her heightened hearing returning as she ruffled through her closet gabbing several outfits and shoving them in a duffle bag. She slipped off the soaking bra and skirt and yanked on a pair of formfitting jeans and fastened a backless silk shirt before creeping out of the room and into the hall. She saw Gavin seated on the sofa, his head cradled in his hands as he listened to Nadia, a petite girl with blue hair who had taken up permanent residence on their couch. She guessed it was a better place to crash than the street. Nadia tucked a stray lock of blue hair behind her ear as she patted Gavin on the back. 

"A Trani!" he wailed, "He had told me to keep her from finding out about them, told me she had been in one of those cults and he didn't want her to revert back to her old ways. I never thought she really was one of THEM. She was so helpless," Max felt a brief stab of pity for her friend but continued silently on her course to his room. This confirmed her suspicions, Logan had called Gavin and told him to keep her sheltered from the news of the transgenics and Gavin had wanted the best for her, wanted her safe. Max began to tear through Gavin's drawers grabbing various articles of clothing that might fit Alec before she threw open the window and dropped four stories to the ground landing unharmed.  

Alec's slow mocking clapping emanated from the car as she rose to her feet brushing off the blue silk of the shirt. She flicked off her blonde companion and tossed the bag of clothes to him. 

"Gavin's a lot bigger than you so I don't know how well all this is going to fit," she said by way of apology. She caught the way Alec's eyes raked over her outfit and decided not to throw away all of Callie's clothes after all. He pulled a pair of sweats from the bag and quickly stripped off his own soaking jeans. 

"Alec!" Max cried averting her eyes, a blush stealing up her cheeks. 

Alec laughed and Max felt the blush deepen as she realized how much she loved that sound. So happy and carefree not guarded like so many other men she associated with, when Alec laughed his whole face lit up.

"Come on Maxie you're already personally acquainted with this portion of my anatomy." The way he put the emphasis on the word personally sent a chill shooting through her and Max was glad to see him fully clothed when she looked up. 

"Let's go home, she sighed as Alec started the car again.

Alec clicked his tongue agitatedly, running his hand through his still damp hair. "We've got a lot to talk about," he finally said, pulling the car out of the alley and heading back onto the main road. 

Max felt icy hand clawing at the back of her throat as silence descended on the car, "What do you mean 'talk about'?" she asked anxiously, "Why can't we go home?"

Alec kept his eyes studiously trained on the road ignoring Max's nervous interrogation. 

"Alec," she growled warningly, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Look Max," he snapped, his pleasant demeanor falling away, "now is really not the time to go into this." Max's eyes widened and apprehension knotted her stomach.

"Pull over," she ordered. Alec gave her a warning glare ignoring her order.

Max grabbed the steering wheel and the car swerved to the left, "Pull over!" she shouted.

Alec knocked her hands away and straightened the vehicle, his jaw set in grim determination. It was then that Max's tongue shot out trailing a path down his neck before her teeth latched onto his ear. The car swerved again and this time Alec's recovery time was slowed, "Shit!" he cried narrowly missing a collision with the guardrail.

"Pull over," Max ordered again, this time a seductive whisper, her breath tickling his ear. Alec jerked the car over into the median his breath coming in ragged gasps, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?! You could've gotten us killed!" 

Max settled back into her seat a satisfied expression on her face. "Why can't we go home?"

"I think it would be better if you were hammered when you heard this," he suggested reaching to restart the car, "In fact I'd rather tell it when I'm shit-faced." 

Max looked at the darkening night sky and nodded. Maybe she didn't want to hear this after all.

It was nearly midnight when Alec pulled into the parking lot of a club and the pair took seats at a table. Alec ordered for them and they sat in silence until their drinks came. Alec knocked back his shot before beginning his explanation. "Seattle has become a ground zero in the war on transgenics," he said, pausing to take another drink. "They've got these… planes… out dusting the city with chemicals. They target something in our genetic makeup and are fatal if inhaled. It's like fucking pesticides Max."

Max sat back in her chair, her drink sitting forgotten on the cracked Formica of the counter. "But you survived," she said weakly.

"Barely. That's why I left. The flights are becoming more frequent, and it was only a matter of time before I was caught. I had the whole fucking city on my ass for a previous indiscretion and I just couldn't hide anymore."

"You stay," Max finally said getting up and heading out into the balmy night. Alec chased after her, catching her shoulder before she could get in the car. 

"It's not just me they're after," Alec shouted, pinning her arms at her sides, "Going back there is suicide." 

"Oh but I like living on the edge," Max deadpanned. Alec regarded her seriously before he got into the car.

"If you go I'm going with you," he said, resignation in his voice. Max opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. She could use his help and she was growing kind of attached to him. 

"So partner, ready to face down the enemy?" 

Alec wondered briefly to whom she was referring before replying, "Always."

~~~

TBC!!! It's Winter break so I'll try to update as much as I can!!!!

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